The best Khan Academy alternatives in 2026

Khan Academy is free and well made, so the right alternative depends on what you need. For school practice, IXL. For interactive math, science and coding, Brilliant. For free textbooks, CK-12. For free university material, MIT OpenCourseWare. For certificates, Coursera. To study your own course material, StudyPDF, which has no lessons of its own.

Checked October 2026

Pick by what you need

IXLSkill-by-skill practice for school subjects, Pre-K to grade 12
BrilliantLearning math, science and computer science by solving problems
CK-12Free textbooks, videos and practice for K-12 subjects

StudyPDFThat's us

Studying your own class: slides, notes and readings

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At a glance

Tool	Free tier	Price (October 2026)	Platforms
IXL	10 free questions a day in each subject	From $9.95 a month, four subjects $19.95	Web and mobile apps
Brilliant	2 keys a day unlock 2 concepts or practice sets, with ads	Individual $20 a month billed yearly, Family $40	Web, iOS, Android
CK-12	Everything on the site is free, no subscription	Free	Web
MIT OpenCourseWare	All course material is free, with no credit or certificate	Free	Web, YouTube, offline for select courses
Coursera	Free preview of the first module of most courses, plus financial aid	Plus $59 a month or $399 a year	Web, iOS, Android
StudyPDFThat's us	About 4 materials a week, 2 courses, no card	Pro and Ultra plans, see the pricing page	Web, iPhone, iPad, Android

Prices as of October 2026. Check the vendor's site for the current price.

The options

IXL

Skill-by-skill practice for school subjects, Pre-K to grade 12

IXL is a paid practice platform with 20,000+ skills in math, language arts, science, social studies and Spanish. A diagnostic builds a personal plan, and the skills are matched to US state standards and the Common Core.

Strengths

A diagnostic shows which skills to learn next, then questions adapt skill by skill
Math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre-K to grade 12 in one membership
Video tutorials, games for the younger grades and progress tools for parents
A 30-day satisfaction guarantee on family memberships

Limits

Paid once you pass the 10 free questions a day in each subject
Skills follow US state standards, so check the fit if you study outside the US

Official site

Brilliant

Learning math, science and computer science by solving problems

Brilliant teaches through short interactive problems in math, computer science, science and data analysis. Premium removes the daily limit and adds full access to Koji, its AI tutor. K-12 teachers and their students may qualify for free Premium.

Strengths

Interactive problems with feedback instead of long video lectures
Koji, the built-in tutor, helps when you get stuck (full access on Premium)
Streaks, XP and leagues keep a daily habit going
A Family plan covers 6 people

Limits

Free users get 2 keys a day, see occasional ads and must follow each topic in order
Focused on math, computer science, science and data, not on school subjects like history

Official site

CK-12

Free textbooks, videos and practice for K-12 subjects

CK-12 Foundation is a nonprofit that offers online textbooks, videos, exercises, flashcards and simulations for over 5,000 concepts from arithmetic to history. It says everything on CK-12 is 100% free.

Strengths

Free with no subscription, by its own account
Textbooks, videos, exercises, flashcards and simulations in one place
Teachers can run a class on it with a class code

Limits

Aimed at K-12, so for college-level topics look at MIT OpenCourseWare or Coursera

Official site

MIT OpenCourseWare

Free university-level course material from MIT

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free collection of material from more than 2,500 MIT courses. You browse at your own pace, with no enrollment and no start dates. MIT gives no credit or certificate for using it.

Strengths

More than 2,500 MIT courses, free to download and reuse with credit
Browse at your own pace, with no enrollment and no start dates
Lectures also on its YouTube channel

Limits

No credit, no certificate and no feedback on your answers

Official site

Coursera

Structured university and industry courses with certificates

Coursera hosts courses from 350+ universities and companies, with graded work, hands-on projects and certificates. Coursera Plus covers most of its 10,000+ courses and certificates for one price. Some courses and all degrees are excluded.

Strengths

Courses from universities and companies such as Google, IBM and Duke
Certificates you can add to a resume or LinkedIn
A 7-day free trial on monthly Plus and a 14-day refund window on yearly
Financial aid for eligible learners

Limits

The free preview covers the first module of most courses; Coursera replaced free auditing in 2025
Single courses and programs outside Plus run $49 to $79 a month

Official site

StudyPDF

That's us

Studying your own class: slides, notes and readings

Khan Academy gives you its curriculum. StudyPDF starts from yours. Upload the slides, documents, scans or a YouTube link from your course. Bo answers from them and cites the page, and the New material button builds flashcards, quizzes, practice exams and study guides. Your results show which concepts are weak. It has no lessons of its own, so use it next to Khan Academy, not instead. The free plan needs an account, no card.

Strengths

Works from your actual course, so it matches what your exam covers
Answers cite the page of your document or the second of your video
Mastery is tracked per concept, so the next quiz targets your gaps
Reads scans, handwriting and photos; PDF export on every plan, Word and Anki on Pro and up

Limits

No lessons, videos or curriculum: it cannot teach a subject you have no material for
Weekly caps on every plan, and a free account is needed
No grade-level skill paths or standards alignment

Get started free

How to choose

Stay with Khan Academy if you want free lessons and practice across school subjects. It costs nothing for students, and most alternatives here are paid or cover less.
Want a paid, adaptive drill for school skills? IXL. Want to work through problems instead of watching lectures? Brilliant. Free textbooks and practice for K-12? CK-12.
University level: MIT OpenCourseWare for free material, Coursera when you want a certificate and graded work.
Studying for your own class? No curriculum knows your professor's slides. A tool that works from your files, like StudyPDF, fits that job. Keep Khan Academy for the lessons you are missing.

More on this

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with its own free curriculum: video lessons and practice in math, science, computing, economics, history and more, plus test prep. Its site says it is always free for students, teachers and families. Its AI tutor, Khanmigo, costs $4 a month for learners in the United States and is free for teachers in the US and some other countries.

So why look elsewhere? Usually for one of four reasons: you want a different kind of practice, you need university-level material, you want a certificate, or the thing you have to pass is your own class and not a standard curriculum. Most lists mix all of these together. This page splits them by need.

Facts come from each site, checked in October 2026. Prices change, so check the current one before you pay.

More alternatives

Study from your own material

Turn your slides and PDFs into flashcards, quizzes and practice exams.

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Questions and answers

What are some websites similar to Khan Academy?

It depends on the need. IXL is the closest paid option for school practice. Brilliant teaches math, computer science and science with interactive problems. CK-12 offers free K-12 textbooks and practice. MIT OpenCourseWare and Coursera cover university-level courses. StudyPDF is different: it has no lessons and studies your own course material.

Where can I find free math courses?

Khan Academy and CK-12 both say they are free. MIT OpenCourseWare has free university math course material. Brilliant's free plan opens 2 concepts or practice sets a day, and IXL gives 10 free questions a day in each subject. Paid plans remove those limits.

Which educational app is totally free?

Khan Academy says it is always free for students, teachers and families, and CK-12 says everything on its site is free. MIT OpenCourseWare is free too, without credit or certificates. Khan's AI tutor Khanmigo is a paid add-on for learners, $4 a month in the US.

Do schools use Khan Academy?

Yes. Khan Academy says millions of teachers use it in their classrooms, and it is free for teachers and students. Schools and districts can also buy partnerships that add progress views across classrooms and Khanmigo for students.

Is there a Khan Academy alternative for adults?

Yes. MIT OpenCourseWare is free and university level. Coursera has a free preview of the first module and paid certificates, from $59 a month with Coursera Plus. Brilliant suits adults who want to rebuild math or learn to code. Khan Academy itself also has courses beyond school, such as test prep.

The best Khan Academy alternatives in 2026

Checked October 2026

IXL

10 free questions a day in each subject

From $9.95 a month, four subjects $19.95

Web and mobile apps

Brilliant

2 keys a day unlock 2 concepts or practice sets, with ads

Individual $20 a month billed yearly, Family $40

Web, iOS, Android

CK-12

Everything on the site is free, no subscription

Free

Web

MIT OpenCourseWare

All course material is free, with no credit or certificate

Free

Web, YouTube, offline for select courses

Coursera

Free preview of the first module of most courses, plus financial aid

Plus $59 a month or $399 a year

Web, iOS, Android

StudyPDFThat's us

About 4 materials a week, 2 courses, no card

Pro and Ultra plans, see the pricing page

Web, iPhone, iPad, Android

How to choose

Stay with Khan Academy if you want free lessons and practice across school subjects. It costs nothing for students, and most alternatives here are paid or cover less.

Want a paid, adaptive drill for school skills? IXL. Want to work through problems instead of watching lectures? Brilliant. Free textbooks and practice for K-12? CK-12.

University level: MIT OpenCourseWare for free material, Coursera when you want a certificate and graded work.

Studying for your own class? No curriculum knows your professor's slides. A tool that works from your files, like StudyPDF, fits that job. Keep Khan Academy for the lessons you are missing.